The invention relates to a connecting element for connecting a fluid line to a component which can be acted upon fluidically.
Connecting elements of this generic category have been disclosed for both cables (German Utility Model No. 7,009,185) and for pipelines (German Unexamined Published Application DOS No. 2,734,753). They hold the particular through line on a wall or on a component of vehicles. They themselves are inserted with a hollow expanding plug (shank part) into a bore in the wall or the vehicle component and are secured in the bore by driving a core stem or expanding pin into the through bore of the expanding plug. In connecting elements of this type, the short distance between the particular line and the wall/component is advantageous.
Furthermore, a connecting element for lines has been disclosed (German Unexamined Published Application DOS No. 3,120,045) which enables lines to be attached to components in two different axes and/or two different planes.
An object of the invention is to design a connecting element of the type mentioned above in such a way that a fluidic push-in connection can thereby be made between a fluid line, pushed into its retaining clamp transversely to its longitudinal axis and provided with a push-in connection piece, and the component and can be directly secured without separate means of attachment.
This object is achieved according to the invention by providing a connecting element comprising at least one C-shaped retaining clamp into which the line can be pressed transversely to its longitudinal axis while the retaining clamp is temporarily expanded elastically, for securing to the component carrying the connecting element, and a through bore which is arranged at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the retaining clamp or the line, passes through towards a bore in the component and is provided for leading through a push-in part, wherein the connecting element through bore has at least the same diameter as the compound connection bore of the component to be acted upon by a fluid under pressure or pressure via the line which is embodied as a pipe or/and a hose and is connected to the connection bore in an axially aligned manner for leading through a push-in connection piece which is fluidically firmly connected to the line and extends at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the line and is to be inserted into the connection bore of the component.
When there is an extremely small distance between fluid line and component--which, e.g., can be a pneumatic regulating element, a vacuum accumulator, a valve or a pump--considerable ease of assembly and dismantling is achieved with the connecting element described. Abutment contours for the attachment do not need to be provided either on the fluid line itself or on its push-in connection piece arranged at an angle, since the line itself is directly secured at its outer periphery in the manner of a pipe clip. If need be, a short length of pipe having a branching push-in connection piece will have to be inserted into a non-inherently rigid hose line. Nor is it imperative for the fluid line to be interrupted at the push-in connection, for a push-in connection piece can by all means be arranged on a through fluid line if necessary even subsequently--when the connecting element according to the invention is used.
These advantages distinguish the connecting element according to the invention from fluidic push-in connecting systems which, e.g., have been disclosed by German DOS No. 2,856,064 or by German Utility Model No. 8,519,104. Apart from the larger distance at which a fluid line has to be guided towards a component in said prior art even when angle connectors are used and which in restricted installation conditions, e.g. at central-locking regulating elements in motor vehicle doors, can represent a negative feature, abutment contours for the clip mountings are provided in said prior art in each case at the push-in connection pieces themselves. Both push-in connecting systems cannot be separated without a tool. Nor do they provide any suggestion for achieving the object of the invention.
With the connecting element according to the invention, the free selection of the feed direction of the fluid line to the component is retained by a freely rotatable arrangement of the connecting element on the connection piece of the component in the same manner as in the use of angle or T-pieces of the push-in connecting system according to German Offenlegungsschrift No. 2,856,064, according to certain preferred embodiments.
Even in a one-piece arrangement of the connecting element on the component according to certain preferred embodiments of the invention, a limited freedom of the feed direction can be maintained when a plurality of retaining clamps arranged at an angle to one another are provided.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.